


Silver Lining

by ohgeelato



Series: Skyhold Shenanigans [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Bad Weather, Fluff, Implied side romances, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 04:32:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3837235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohgeelato/pseuds/ohgeelato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sudden rain storm at Skyhold is the perfect setting for some Dorian/Iron Bull fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silver Lining

The thing about Skyhold being next to a range of snow-capped mountains is that it made rain a rare sight in the Inquisition headquarters. Which is why they were completely and utterly unprepared for a terrible rain storm that had rolled in.

The torrential downpour had begun very suddenly, almost as if the sky just opened its maws and let loose its floodgates. There hadn’t been any warning lightning or thunder beforehand, or at least none that the Iron Bull noticed, but now the dark skies lit up in flashes every so often, followed by the deafening clap of thunder. The rain lashed against the roof and the strong winds rattled the windows and doors, threatening to break them down.

People were running around trying to reinforce any openings and weak spots, although luckily the tower had been one of the more sturdy structures even before the Inquisition had settled into Skyhold. Still, the Iron Bull could see some people outright fleeing the tower, probably heading to the Great Hall to find comfort in numbers. Leliana’s ravens were flapping in their cages and cawing louder than usual, another chorus to add to the cacophony. He could barely hear the commotion over the sounds of the rainstorm. The wind had found its way into the buildings despite the reinforcements, slipping in between any cracks it could find and alternatively howling and whistling down the corridors. Meanwhile, the rain pounded against everything, a medley of crashing and thundering.

The Bull wasn’t particularly bothered by it. It almost reminded him of home. Par Vollen and later, Seheron often had terrible rain storms, especially during particular months of the year. This rain storm was actually kind of making him homesick.

He looked down at Dorian, who was looking out of the window from his little alcove in the library (yes, the Bull had always thought of this as Dorian’s alcove and he’d like to see anyone try to contest the mage for this prime spot). The Bull followed his gaze and looked out at the Skyhold courtyard as well. It was a blurry picture, a melting blend of grey and brown in the darkness.

He could barely make out the outline of the tavern in the distance when he suddenly remembered about his room. His room with the caved in roof that he never bothered to get repaired. The Bull cursed loudly. Dorian turned to look at him questioningly.

“My room!” The Bull complained, “The ceiling’s not patched up. It’s going to be a complete wreck.”

Dorian crossed his legs and leaned back against Bull’s chest. Lately this had become almost a usual sight in the tower library. The Iron Bull slouching in what should have been an oversized but really just the right size for him armchair, and Dorian sitting atop the Qunari’s lap like it was his nest and reading. The Bull sometimes tried to read whatever Dorian was reading as well, occasionally trying to engage the mage in conversation about what they were reading. But since Dorian always picked the books they were reading, the topics tended to lean towards Dorian’s expertise and whatever it was would usually fly right over the Bull’s head. Magic and demons and thousands of years of history of what sounded to Bull like humans making horrible mistakes. Thus, Bull spent most of this time together taking cat naps while Dorian read his books quietly. Dorian was a comfortable weight on top of him, keeping the Bull warm. The mage’s scent – jasmine flowers and sandalwood and just the slightest hint of lyrium – had become so soothing to the Bull and it always helped him drift to sleep. It had been a long time since they had grown to become so comfortable with each other and Bull was grateful for the Vint’s stabilizing influence on him.

“I would love to say ‘I told you so’ because I did tell you countless times to get that roof repaired,” Dorian said, his voice smug, “but I think you’re learning the lesson well enough already.”

Bull grunted, shifting his legs a little to avoid cramping them. Dorian absent-mindedly moved as well, putting less weight on Bull’s left leg.

“You think you’re so clever, Vint,” Bull growled, with no real heat behind his words.

“But I am! All the important people say so,” Dorian replied.

“Who are these important people? Is it the boss? Because I like the boss but he’s also a little too easily impressed. One time, I heard him expressing awe at one of Maryden’s songs,” Bull said.

Dorian laughed, and Bull couldn’t help but grin. He loved making the mage laugh.

“Maker, that woman sings the worst songs,” Dorian admitted. The Bull hummed in agreement.

“Did you hear that song she wrote about Sera?” Bull asked, looking down at Dorian, who had one side of his face pressed against Bull’s chest.

“Sera told me about it. Sounded creepy,” Dorian said, picking out a book from one of the piles that were stacked precariously high beside the chair.

“What are you reading today?” Bull asked, trying to get a look at the title of the book Dorian was now holding.

“A classic work by Genitivi, _Fade and Spirits Mysterious_ ,” Dorian said.

“Haven’t you read this one before?” Bull asked. He was sure he had tried reading some of it with Dorian before, but of course he had understood very little. Probably because he wasn’t trying very hard to understand it. Bull wanted nothing to do with the Fade after Adamant. Dorian hadn’t pushed him about it.

“Yes, but I spent weeks combing through the library for _this_ particular copy. It’s one of the earliest editions, before some of the more… _controversial_ writings were taken out of the subsequent editions,” Dorian explained patiently. The mage was always patient when Bull asked questions about the books and the topics they were about. He figured it was the scholar in Dorian who enjoyed explaining whatever their current academic interests were. Bull didn’t mind the lengthy explanations either.

Dorian pursed his lips thoughtfully and warned, “If you didn’t like the last time we read this book, you’re not gonna like it any better now, Bull.”

The Iron Bull shrugged his massive shouders, “I know. Don’t worry about me. I might just sleep for a bit since there’s nothing else for me to do with the weather like this.”

Dorian nodded and almost immediately became engrossed in the book. He had turned to his original position again, with his back against Bull’s chest.

Bull looked around. The commotion had died down for a bit even as the rain continued. Bull guessed everyone finally realized they were in no immediate danger from the storm as long as they stayed inside. The number of people in the tower was also significantly fewer than usual. Those who had ran to the Great Hall were probably still there. Bull could only see Helisma, two other scholars and a few of Leliana’s spies milling about the tower library. He craned his neck to look upstairs, spotting only Leliana above them.

He closed his eyes, careful not to shift his head too much in case the horns tear into the armchair. For a while, all he could hear were Dorian’s steady breathing and the occasional rustle of pages being turned. Then, nothing.

 

When Bull drifted back into wakefulness, even with his eye closed, he noticed a couple of things. One, he could no longer hear the sounds of the rain storm. Two, Dorian was still seated on him. He cracked open his eye and saw that he was still reading the same book.

“Hey,” Bull said, catching Dorian’s attention. The mage tilted his head to look at the Bull.

“Hey,” Dorian said affectionately, stretching up to kiss Bull’s cheek. Bull would have blushed, if he was capable of that. For the longest time, Dorian had been very reluctant with any form of public displays of affection, even if it was just holding hands. But after Bull repeatedly told and showed him in myriad ways that the only reason people are surprised about them being together is because of the history of their people, Dorian tentatively allowed and even occasionally initiated public displays of affection. Once the ‘vint realized that no one, especially in Skyhold where gossip traveled faster than Cole, gave a nug’s ass about two men being in a relationship, he had become very fond of being affectionate in public, to the point of being handsy even, in Bull’s opinion. Not that Bull was complaining. He liked affectionate. He enjoyed handsy.

“It’s stopped raining,” Bull said, gesturing outside the window. The sun had even broken through the clouds and if it weren’t for the great puddles and muddy ground, it would have seemed as though there had been no rain at all.

“It just stopped raining a while before you woke up,” Dorian said.

Iron Bull patted the side of Dorian’s legs. “Up, I want to go check on my room,” he said.

Dorian hopped off neatly and replaced the book at the top of his pile. The Bull got up, rubbing his left leg a little. It was an old ache, one that Bull had gotten used to and barely even felt anymore, but getting cramps made it hurt a bit more than usual. Dorian glanced guiltily at Bull’s leg. Bull waved him off. He liked their time together in the library and he really liked when Dorian sat on his lap. His leg didn’t hurt so much that he would give this up, which was something he had told the ‘vint before.

“Let’s go,” Dorian said, already heading towards the stairs.

They went through Solas’ room – the elf was busy painting a mural on the walls – and through Cullen’s office – the Commander was nowhere to be seen although Bull had a good idea where he might be, Bull thought with a smirk – to get to Bull’s room.

The moment they opened the door to Bull’s room, he groaned in dismay. Not that he had many furniture in the room in the first place, but everything was soaking wet. The broken wooden dresser and cabinets still had trapped water in some places. His bed was completely waterlogged and looked to be ruined beyond use. He sighed loudly.

“I’ll have to ask Trevelyan for a new bed,” he muttered.

“You should ask Josephine. She gives the orders to the quartermaster. I don’t think Trevelyan even knows who the new quartermaster is,” Dorian said, leaning against the doorframe.

Bull chuckled, “He hasn’t met Morris?”

“Ser Morris,” Dorian corrected, but there was a heavy sarcasm in his voice.

“He’s not that bad. Just a little pompous at first, but that’s just cause the boy’s nervous,” Bull said.

Dorian rolled his eyes but chose not to pursue the matter further.

“I think Trevelyan knows all the camp quartermasters by first name though,” Bull mused, picking up his pillow. Water started dripping from it almost immediately. He dropped it back down on the bed, where it landed with a squelch.

“He spends more time in the wilderness than in Skyhold, so that’s not too surprising,” Dorian replied, picking at his sleeves.

“And Cullen spends more time worrying than anything else when the boss is gone from Skyhold so I really think the boss should stop going out so often,” Bull said. Dorian quirked his mouth, possibly in amusement, but said nothing else.

“There’s no way I’m getting a new bed by today, is there?” Bull asked, even as he retrieved some of his clothes – yup, completely soaked as well, although he could dry these by a fireplace easily enough.

“No,” Dorian agreed. He looked up from his sleeve to see Bull, who had slowly turned around to grin at Dorian.

“You know what that means?” Bull said, still grinning.

Dorian sighed dramatically, “You’ll be sleeping in my room?”

“I mean, only if you’re offering.”

“Of course I’m offering, you big oaf. I’m not about to let you sleep on the tavern floor, am I?” Dorian said, an amused smile on his face.

If it was possible for Bull’s grin to be wider, it would be. “Oh, I bet you’d like to see me on the tavern floor,” he said, comically leering at Dorian with his one eye.

Dorian shook his head even as he laughed, “You just _say_ these things. Do you even listen to what you’re saying?”

“You like what I’m saying,” Bull accused.

The ‘vint was still laughing, his whole body shaking, when Bull crossed the room in a few strides to Dorian. Before he can say or do anything, Dorian had placed a hand on Bull’s chest, trying to still himself and stop himself from laughing. When the laughing finally subsided, Dorian looked up at Bull.

“You are just absolutely ridiculous,” Dorian said.

Bull shrugged, “Eh, I try my best.” He gently pushed Dorian’s hand on his chest away.

“Let’s go. There’s nothing to be done about my room right now,” Bull said.

“Back to the library?” Dorian suggested.

“Yeah, let’s go back to the library,” Bull agreed readily.

 

~fin

**Author's Note:**

> This whole thing was just dripping in fluff, tbh. Wanted to write some porn into the ending but decided against it. Maybe next time. Also, thanks to elthadriel from tumblr for helping me with actually finishing this, because I kinda wrote halfway and didn't know where to take the story, haha.


End file.
